We might have chosen another day to begin Olga's portrait—we have waited six years, so we could just as well have waited until tomorrow; but the preparations for tonight's ball made Olga so nervous that I thought it best to bring her here. You know this ball is a kind of house-warming.
[Crosses over to C.
OLGA
We were obliged to invite such a lot of people, to clear off our social obligations.
HERMAN
I wish it was over. I hate these functions. Old Freebody, in whose business I started, was worth ninety millions, and he never gave a party in his life—or anything else, for that matter. When do you want me to call for Olga?
KARL, R. C.
Well, it gets dark very early now: in three quarters of an hour we won't be able to see any more.
HERMAN
Well, then—